Despite advances in diagnostics, chemotherapeutics, and surgical techniques, the prognosis for certain types of cancers, including but not limited to, brain cancers like glioblastoma multiforme (“GBM”), remains poor.
MicroRNAs (“miRNAs” or “miRs”) can regulate gene expression in cells and might be used for therapeutic benefit. As nonlimiting examples, miRNAs can be used to inhibit tumor progression, or to promote tissue healing. Epidermal growth factor receptor (“EGFR”) and miR-146b expression have been shown to be inversely correlated in GBMs. However, many EGFR inhibitors have largely failed to induce GBM regression clinically, even where the relationship between genotype and drug response is observed in other cancers. Moreover, GBMs display a variety of genetic aberrations. Thus, a need remains for therapeutic treatments for many cancers, including but not limited to, GBM.
One difficulty that must be overcome for effective miRNA therapy is efficient delivery of the therapeutic miRNAs into the targeted cells, tissues, or organs. A predominant technical challenge in developing a miRNA-based therapy is getting target cells to efficiently absorb and incorporate significant amounts of miRNA.